Tietmeyer Talks Down Mark
To Boost the French Franc

The ordinary German likes a strong mark. But Hans Tietmeyer, head of the German central bank, seems more concerned about the ordinary Frenchman.

In recent days, Mr. Tietmeyer, president of the Bundesbank, has been talking up the dollar at the expense of the mark. The effort, which makes German products more competitive against U.S. products on world markets, has pushed the dollar sharply higher against the German currency. On Friday, the dollar traded at 1.5464 marks in late New York results, compared with 1.4950 marks on Nov....